Perfect Match
by Yemam2422
Summary: Flack/Angell. Post 'Commuted Sentence' fic. Angell and Flack deal with the new found spark between them.
1. Chapter 1

My first venture outside my usual Danny/Lindsay world – which is scary but the Flack/Angell moment in the car was just too cute for me to pass up. It's so strange even just typing Flack/Angell! Hope there are others out there who found it just as cute as I did. Thanks to **mel60** for the tremendous beta-help!

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He walked through the hallways like he owned them. That was definitely it. _That's_ the reason she couldn't stop looking at him, Jennifer Angell convinced herself. 'Him' being Detective Don Flack. The same Flack who, up until a few weeks ago, had barely registered on her radar.

But ever since they were assigned to trail a suspect together he had definitely left an impression. It was odd how their paths rarely crossed before then, but they just seemed to travel in different circles within the police department. Outside of a cordial 'hello' in the break room they'd never had a significant conversation, but she had always thought of him as a nice guy and good detective.

Jennifer didn't fluster easily – a lifetime with four older brothers and daily confrontations with criminals did that to a woman. So when Flack had flirted with her in the car she'd been surprised but easily teased him back, leaving him the one blushing. It didn't matter that a tingle had traveled through her body at his words about boys noticing her. She was pretty sure he had a girlfriend – one that she remembered hearing had even been involved in a high profile case awhile back. And even if he was single, wasn't inter-office dating usually a big danger zone?

They'd resumed their brief exchanges - although they seemed to bump into each other more frequently - but there was no denying how aware of him she'd become or how her heart sped up when they did talk. She'd teased him about trying his 'game' out on her but the reality was he didn't need much game to get a woman's attention. Even now with his usually sharp suit crumpled from a long day he still looked sexy as hell. _Sexy? Did I just say sexy_?

How had she never noticed this, she wondered. She'd been too focused on her work, she supposed. Having a detective sergeant for a father had built-in expectations that were tough to meet and being a female cop in a man's world only added to the pressure. It had taken her just three years to be promoted to detective, leaving little time to notice the opposite sex. She found herself surprised that Flack would be the one to break that spell.

Even from her desk, at the opposite end of the precinct as his, she could see his mouth was pursed, his features taut, deep in thought. Definitely a nice mouth. The rest of him wasn't bad either, she thought, watching him toss a hot dog wrapper and coffee cup into the trash. Lean, clean features and striking blue eyes combining to create the epitome of tall, dark and handsome.

_Yup, definitely sexy_, she thought with a shiver that had nothing to do with the office temperature. Shaking her head, laughing at herself and standing up, she decided it was definitely time to head home.

"I never pegged you as a Sudoku woman."

Angell instantly recognized Flack's voice coming from behind her and looked at the book of puzzles in her hand that helped her unwind on her subway ride home. Though unwinding was the last thing on her mind whenever Flack was around. She'd come to both despise and welcome what his nearness brought – a stirring in her stomach, an uncontrollable urge to smile, a mild loss of control of her heart rate, a ridiculous amount of goose bumps. While she enjoyed the pleasant sensations, she hated the lack of payoff her body seemingly anticipated - and would probably never come Jennifer assumed.

Doing her best to not reveal his effect on her, she stopped and turned to face him, crossing her arms. "I didn't realize you'd been pegging me at all," she said with a smirk.

Flack laughed. He didn't know much about Jennifer Angell but he knew she'd have some sort of comeback for him. He also knew that she intrigued him. That's why, when he saw her leaving, he discreetly jogged across the room to catch up to her. He felt like he was in high school again, scoping out the cute girl during class. Catching a glimpse of her in the corner, bumping into her at the lunch. And it seemed with every glimpse he got, the more intrigued he became.

During their hour in the car a few weeks back he was surprised to learn how much they had in common. Similar rise up the ranks, they could trade endless stories about working with the same CSIs, and as the son of a NYPD legend he even knew what it meant to live in a shadow of expectations. He would be lying if he said he hadn't noticed her before. Any male would have to be blind to not notice an attractive female working across the room on a daily basis. But he guessed chance and circumstance kept them from interacting in any way other than professionally.

And other than professionally is exactly how he'd been thinking about her. He did his best to ignore the wave of arousal that washed over him or how his usually steady hands slightly shook at her proximity or how, at times, all he could focus on were her very kissable lips. Despite his best efforts at ignoring all this he usually failed. Until he figured out how to succeed he would just continue his one-sided game of pursuit.

"I prefer the New York Times crossword puzzle myself."

"Smarty pants," she said, turning and continuing to walk down the hall. Flack sped up to walk in line with her.

"Are you ever not eating?" Angell asked when Flack unwrapped a Snickers bar. Ever since he'd become a fixture in her peripheral vision she'd noticed he was more often than not consuming some sort of food item.

"Hey," Flack replied defensively. "I'm a growing boy, what can I say."

"At least you're not perpetuating the stereotype by eating doughnuts."

"You should have seen my breakfast. Two boston creams, freshly baked. I have no problem with stereotypes if it means keeping me well fed."

Angell smiled. "How's the Quick Mart case going?"

Flack had been assigned to a homicide at a convenience store and excitedly shared the unusual way he solved it. "You're never going to believe this. The perp's girlfriend was with him and thinking it would be cool to win, she filled out a contest entry form for a free ipod on the counter - complete with her name, address, and phone number. We picked both of them up a couple of hours ago."

"Wow," Angell said. "The stupidity of the criminals in this city will never cease to amaze me."

Neither Flack nor Angell had noticed that they had ended up outside the building, Flack's Snickers long finished.

"So…" Angell hesitated, unsure why things suddenly felt awkward, as if there were unspoken expectations hanging in the air. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure." Flack said reluctantly, wanting to prolong their conversation.

Before either of them could leave an elderly man came up to them, thrusting a rose in front of Flack.

"Buy a rose for your girlfriend," he said with a thick European accent. "Only one dollar."

Flack usually brushed these street vendors off without a second thought but he couldn't help but smile this time as he fished a dollar out of his pocket.

"You know that's the second person to think that, Angell." Flack handed the rose to her.

"Think what?"

"That you're my girlfriend."

Angell swallowed hard. Heat flamed into her face, from embarrassment and something more as she remembered the woman they'd trailed also referring to her as Flack's girlfriend. Reminding herself that she did not get flustered she said, "You'd never pass as my boyfriend."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Pretty boys aren't my type."

"So that means you think I'm pretty?" Eyes narrowing, Flack tried hard to assess the woman standing in front of him despite his teasing. What was it about Jennifer Angell that had him experiencing an unusual pull, seemingly tightening by the minute, at the same moment that an alarm sounded in the back of his mind that he shouldn't care if he was her type? He didn't get as far as he had in this line of work by ignoring his instincts, which were screaming at him to act on his attraction. But he couldn't quite read Angell – get a clear signal from her – just yet.

"Thanks for the rose," Angell said with a laugh, hoping to change the subject. The last thing she wanted was for Flack to ask her what her type was and have her description sound suspiciously like him.

"Anytime."

"You're staring," Angell said, disconcerted at the way his eyes settled on her.

"You're not moving."

"Oh…right. Okay, I'm moving…I'm going now." Angell felt herself on the verge of babbling so she knew it was time to end the conversation. "Bye."

"Have a good night Angell."

Stopping and turning around Angell called out before Don entered the building, "Flack."

"Yeah?"

"You can call me Jennifer, you know."

Flack smiled. "Okay. Jennifer. See you tomorrow." It was just a name, no big deal Flack knew. But maybe that was just the signal he was waiting for.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Apparently Detective Angell's name is Jessica, but since I started this with Jennifer I am going to finish it that way. Thanks for reading and huge thanks to **mel60** for beta-ing!

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She knew Flack's schedule better than she cared to admit. This thought crosses Jennifer's mind the instant she saw him sitting at his desk, on her way out for the night, and knew he shouldn't have been there. While the cases they worked together were few and far between Angell looked forward to the informal routine they had fallen into that ensured their paths crossed regularly. Flack almost always stopped by her desk to see how her day was going, and knowing his affinity for Boston crème doughnuts she'd occasionally bring him one at the beginning of her shift.

After their 'moment' – which is how she'd come to describe their conversation outside the building that somehow acknowledged they were noticing each other in a different way - she wasn't sure if things would become awkward between them. Instead, they had moved into a comfortable friendship zone, though it was laden with minefields of attraction that threatened to explode with every glance or accidental touch.

But Jennifer quickly learned to diffuse those moments by laughing them off or acting like her body didn't go into overdrive. Plus, Flack seemed totally unaffected by it all. Sometimes, though, she would swear she could feel his eyes on her from across the room or hear his breath hitch when they stood close together. But the next second his head was down focused on work or his breathing back to normal while they moved onto the next topic of conversation - her mind seemingly imaging things.

"I thought you were off today," she said as she approached him.

Flack briefly lifted his head from the chaos of files on his desk, but even the very attractive sight of Jennifer Angell couldn't lift his spirits. He was having a shitty day. Seeing Jennifer made his day slightly less shitty, but shitty nonetheless. There was no other way for Flack to describe it. He had spent the past several hours helping Danny break all kinds of conduct codes by looking for Ollie Barnes and now he'd have to arrest Ruben's mom, destroying an already grieving Danny even more.

He'd started off his day on such a good note by running into Jennifer at the crime scene, that he would have never expected it to turn out as horribly as it did. Then, he'd done his best to fight the smile that threatened to cover his face at seeing her. Now you couldn't pay him to smile. He hated the position he found himself in – stuck in the murky grey area of being a good cop to a good friend. He finally understood how difficult it must have been for Mac to take his log last year during his investigation into a dirty cop. It was no fun carrying the burdens of friendship and professional responsibility at the same time.

Flack knew he could talk to Jennifer about what had happened with Danny. He trusted her. Their conversations had slowly but surely evolved from jokes and cases to life outside of work – favorite teams, hobbies, movies, music, politics. He was getting to know 'Jennifer' and not just 'Detective Angell' – and he liked what he was learning. Her reputation of being a tough cop had preceded her and he'd come to admire her ruthless pursuit of suspects and unforgiving attitude with criminals. He was surprised to discover another side of her – the side that exuded sympathy for victims and their families and the heartbreak over a failed case.

It was this complex mixture of hard and soft, hot and cold that made it difficult for Flack to know if there was something more behind their stares across the precinct that went unacknowledged or the way they tested the limits of each other's personal space. But he had too much on his mind to think about any of that right now. Later, though, might be good to think about it…with her.

"Yeah, something came up with Danny. It's a long story. How about I tell you later over an Irish coffee?"

His eyes held hers, and Jennifer sensed a small challenge in his tone. Going for a drink with Flack was definitely a step. Towards what she wasn't sure but she knew she felt inexplicably giddy and unaccountably nervous. She briefly shifted her eyes because she couldn't quite look directly at him and think clearly. But it only took a second for her to admit she wanted to take that step.

"I think I know just the place."

Flack relaxed for what felt like the first time that day, though his respite quickly ended when he saw Danny and Rikki Sandoval enter the precinct.

--

"_How? How can I do that?" _

Danny's question about not feeling guilty had gone unanswered by Flack because he knew there was no good response, and two hours later it was still running through his mind. He felt so fatigued by the past day and could only imagine how difficult it must have been for Danny. Hopefully he would be with Lindsay tonight – the company of a nice, strong woman could ease any worry.

Flack looked at his watch, noting the late hour, as he walked dejectedly down the hallway. He'd spent so long with Rikki Sandoval, making sure that everything went as smoothly as he promised Danny, that he'd lost his chance for Irish coffee with a nice, strong woman of his own. Hopefully Jennifer would take him up on his offer for drinks sometime soon again.

As he turned the corner he froze in his tracks as an unexpected sight made him realize he wouldn't have to wait as long as he'd thought. There, sitting on a bench outside the interrogation room, doing Sudoku puzzles in the empty hallway, was Jennifer Angell. Flack squinted at her, first to make sure she was actually there and then to consider _why_ she was still there. Her shift ended hours ago and she knew he would be tied up with Rikki. She shouldn't be there, right? Was she pulled into a case? Was she there for him? Nothing was making sense to him.

"What are you still doing here?" he finally asked as he walked up to her.

"Things looked pretty intense back there with Danny," she said, hopefully evading his question as to why she felt compelled to wait for him - concern and a longing for something she couldn't quite define.

"Yeah." With a deep sigh, Flack ran a hand over his face, exhausted and discouraged at the past twelve hours. Intense was definitely a good word.

"You still want that drink?"

"Sure."

With a smile Angell nodded towards the door and started walking. Flack stayed and watched her. He needed for something to make sense amid the mess of an innocent boy's death, a grieving mom taking justice into her own hands, and the blurry lines of friendship and work - and he was going to start with Angell. They'd been seemingly testing the waters since that car ride not so long ago and now was the time to take the plunge. Flack grabbed her elbow.

"Jen, why do you think I asked you for a drink tonight?"

Her brows creased and lips pouted in confusion and surprise at Flack's unexpected question. "It's been a long day. It'll help us unwind."

"I asked because I'm interested in you."

"Oh." Her mind scrambled as she realized her imagination hadn't been getting the best of her. "I wasn't sure."

"Now you know."

"Do I?"

To prove his point he cupped her face, bent his head and brushed his mouth lightly across hers. Jennifer's mouth fell open. Flack had kissed her. As casual as it was, he had kissed her. Just like that. She stared at him, chills of anticipation shot through her. She had imagined this moment when she allowed her fantasies get the best of her. But as things stood now she wasn't dreaming. But she was blushing. And she was barely able to look at him.

"Flack…" she finally managed to say breathlessly. Before she could continue he silenced her by kissing her again. Only this time he kissed her hard. After recovering from the surprise Jennifer put her arms around Flack's neck and kissed him back. Hard. It was unlike any other kiss she had ever experienced. Jennifer felt herself being crowded against the wall. One of Flack's hands was cradling her waist and the other braced against the wall behind her as he leaned into her. The warmth from his body was overwhelming. She felt hot all over. His thumb moved over her jawbone, tracing her face as if he was committing it to memory. She clutched at his shoulders as his tongue slid into her mouth.

She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that but when Flack pulled back they were both panting for breath and their grip on each other seemed to be the only thing holding them up. Angell looked up at him and found herself staring straight into raw, hot energy.

"I'm interested." He said against her mouth. "Very."


	3. Chapter 3

There was plenty of time for things to happen between him and Angell, Flack reminded himself as he walked with her to her apartment after their latest night out. No need to rush. Absolutely no need to rush.

It didn't matter that she had a mouth made to kiss for hours. He wondered if it was a mistake kissing her that night in the hallway - or if he had made a mistake in stopping. Because every time he looked at her he could imagine, all too clearly, their kiss. He could all but taste it. He knew he had to do that again. Soon. Very soon. But every time he thought about that, the conversation following their first kiss immediately popped into his head.

_"I'm interested." He said against her mouth. "Very." _

_Jennifer nearly collapsed when he took his hands away from her. Excitement pounded through her.__When she could see clearly again she said, "Flack__" __I__t ended up coming out more as a question than she'd hoped. Angell busied herself with the belt of her coat. "Let's not rush things, okay?"_

_"Okay."__ Flack __said slowly__, trying to process her words through the arousal clouding his mind. _

_Feeling the need to clarify she __continue__d, '__"I'm not interested in a one night stand." _

_"Me neither. __Too messy."_

_"__If we – you and I – start something we should just make sure that it's right. We work together. It could be awkward if…"_

_Flack saw __something flash in __her eyes __then. __He had enough experience int__errogating people to read __body language and tell-tale signs. He saw __the emotion swimming in her __eyes that__revealed how __meaningful her__ words were, __emotions __that made her frown for __just __a split second__. So he knew he had to be careful. __With her, with them._

_"I __understand.__" __He lowered his lashes, briefly shielding his gaze, and when he lifted them again the heat __and unreasonable disappointment __in them had been banked. __His mouth kicked up at the corners. "__But i__n all fairness__ right now is not the best time to ask me about my intentions." _

_Jennifer__ relaxed at the laughter in his voice, soothing her frazzled nerves. __Nerves that were screaming at her to __slow down despite everything else in her body asking for more. __Nerves that had experienced years of a tense relationship between her cop father and a mother who was in love with a man who was married more to his job than to her. Long shifts, crazy hours, intense pressure – that was the life of a cop, with a cop. She could only imagine what it would be like times two between her and Flack. __Why one kiss was conjuring up such memories __and thoughts __was a mystery to her__ but f__or now __they would just take it slow_

Reaching Jennifer's apartment Flack turned to look at her. He wasn't sure how long he could go on like this – this going slow thing. He'd decided on casual nights out – pressure free, non-committal dinners or jazz clubs or movie festivals - resisting the temptations to touch her and kiss her, afraid of pushing too far and scaring her away. He felt like he was in a race without a finish line. A race, however, he would continue running until he got that signal he was waiting for. Until he learned what had caused that look in her eyes that day in the hallway. Until he didn't see that look again.

He leaned down to give her a quick kiss and her arm a fraternal squeeze. "Good night," he said, leaving reluctantly, as he had after all their dates, knowing that if he stayed he would ask for more.

"Night." Entering her apartment, she leaned against the door and couldn't help a sense of disappointment from following her in. _I __totally bl__ew __it_, Angell thought to herself, banging her head lightly against the door in frustration. Did taking things slow suddenly make her less attractive to Flack? Did he somehow decide that being just friends would be better? Because friendly is exactly how he'd been acting – not like someone who'd said he was 'very interested' - barely touching her, their first kiss seemingly a long lost memory. Not that she didn't have a great time when she was with him, but there was slow and then there was non-existent. With each moment spent with him she knew, with more and more certainty, that she wanted to be with him and the idea that Flack might be realizing the opposite made her groan and fall into bed for what she knew would be a fitful night of sleep.

-----

It was the end of a long day and Angell's system was jittery from an intense interrogation, her stomach growling from the lack of a decent meal in over eight hours. So when Lindsay invited her for drinks at Sullivan's she'd eagerly agreed.

"Hey." Lindsay plopped down in the booth across from Angell.

"Hey, Lindsay. How's it going?"

"Good. I spent all day processing evidence from Flack's newsstand case – every sheet of paper had to be examined. It was brutal." Lindsay couldn't help but notice the smile that Angell did her best to fight but still managed to turn the corners of her mouth at the mention of Flack's name. "So…how are you two doing?"

Angell knew that she and Flack were the topic of some locker room gossip, noticing the way conversations abruptly ended whenever she walked into a room or hearing the whispers that carried through the hallways. She didn't mind though, that was life. Plus, she had come to think of Lindsay as a friend and felt comfortable confiding in her about life and work. "Oh fine."

"Fine?"

Angell shrugged. "It's just that he sort of treats me…like a sister." There she had said it.

"You are out of your mind."

"He kisses my cheek," Angell muttered, while a frown slowly formed on her brow. "Squeezes my arm. The first time he kissed me, he kissed me senseless, but now it's just an arm squeeze." She grabbed Lindsay's arm to demonstrate. "Sometimes he looks at me and I think, oh boy, here it comes. Then nothing. I don't know." Jennifer threw her hands up helplessly not noticing that Lindsay had burst into laughter.

Baffled, she asked, "What is so funny?"

"Sorry," Lindsay finally managed to gasp out, clutching her stomach. "I know it's not funny to you but I have to laugh. He's terrified of you."

"What? That's ridiculous."

"No," Sympathetic now, Lindsay stopped laughing. "He wouldn't want to push or rush, if that's what you asked for. He'd be afraid of making the wrong move. And you know he's attracted to you, so those brotherly pats and pecks can't be easy on him. He's probably waiting for you to make the next move, for you to be sure it's what you want. The more he cares the more careful he'd be."

Lindsay knew this because she knew Flack. She saw the way he looked at Angell, the way Angell looked at him. She also saw a little bit of her and Danny in them – those moments of hesitation, of spark, when you realize you have a connection with someone, a strong connection that's almost overwhelmingly frightening.

Jennifer stared at Lindsay, blinking as her words sunk into her brain. "Oh."

-----

It was almost ten when Angell walked up to Flacks' apartment. After leaving Sullivan's she walked around a bit - thinking things through, Lindsay's words swimming around her head - until a plan formed and led her there. She wondered if he was he still up or if he would mind that she stopped by unannounced. She drew a calming breath as she knocked. Flack answered in bare feet, jeans and worn NYPD t-shirt. "Hey," he said with surprise in his voice, shocked to see Jennifer at his door. He hadn't planned on seeing her until tomorrow evening when they had dinner plans. As was usually the case whenever she was around, his heart quickened and his body went into sensory overload, taking in the sight, scent and sounds of her all at once. Feel, though, would have to wait. He wondered what brought her to his door. A case? Something else?

"What's up?"

"I should have called. But I was at Sullivan's and then walking around." She stopped her explanation there as if it completely justified her visit.

"Come in." He stepped back to let her in, his mind still racing trying to figure out why she was here. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"No, thanks. "She looked around for a moment trying to calm her nerves and drown out her pounding heartbeat. "Flack, are you still interested…in me?"

"_What?_"

"I don't mean to put you in an awkward position. If you're not, that's fine. But if you are, and you've just been trying to be considerate because I said I didn't want to rush things then you can stop being considerate. If that's what you're being." She stopped when she ran out of breath and words, otherwise she was sure she would have kept babbling.

Flack's throat went bone dry but a smile was slowly curving his lips as the woman he wanted more than anything was standing in front of him, finally giving him the signal he'd been waiting for.

"You don't want me to be considerate?"

"No. Not really. Not if you still feel, um, interested."

"Thank God." It took him less than a second to cover the distance between them, pulling her to him, his mouth capturing hers in a long, draining kiss that had Jennifer's heart flipping helplessly in her chest.

"Does that answer your question?"

"What question was that?"

"If I'm still interested." His lips skimmed over hers one more time. "Got it now?"

"Yes." She linked her arms around his neck. "I've got it now."

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**A/N**: Thanks to **mel60** for the beta and thanks for reading! 


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